Compare / ERPNext vs Akaunting
ERPNext vs Akaunting
Pick ERPNext if you want the published Zoho Books / Wave ledger with an OSI license (GPL-3.0 ERP books next to inventory). Pick Akaunting if you want that PHP general ledger and accept Business Source License 1.1 (not OSI).
Facts checked 27 Oct 2026. License, language, and GitHub activity come from the catalog or the project's own repo. "Not in the catalog row" means the public catalog dump does not store that number.
ERPNext in the catalog Akaunting in the catalog Start on Railway
How they compare
| ERPNext | Akaunting | |
|---|---|---|
| License | GNU General Public License v3.0 (catalog) source | Business Source License 1.1 (catalog; not OSI) source |
| Language | Python (catalog) | PHP (catalog) |
| GitHub activity | 40,366 stars in the catalog source | 10,188 stars in the catalog source |
| Self-host | ERP books next to inventory. Official docs at frappe.io/erpnext. | Published as /stacks/invoice-ninja-books. A PHP ledger. Read the BSL limits. |
| Best for | The published Zoho Books / Wave replacement if you want GPL. | A PHP ledger if you accept BSL. |
Self-hosting and resource needs
Akaunting is named on the published lander — /stacks/invoice-ninja-books. ERPNext is frappe/erpnext (GPL-3.0; 40,366 stars in the catalog). Akaunting is akaunting/akaunting (BSL-1.1; 10,188 stars in the catalog). InvoiceShelf is the AGPL invoice path, not this pair. Neither has a one-click c17 Railway template.
FAQ
- Zoho Books or Wave?
- Same published books — /replace/zoho-books and /replace/wave-accounting.
- Where is InvoiceShelf?
- AGPL invoices — /best/invoicing-accounting. Not this pair.
- Are these free?
- ERPNext is GPL-3.0. Akaunting is BSL, not OSI. You pay hosting.
- How do I deploy the books?
- Open /stacks/invoice-ninja-books. Persist MySQL. Import one client.
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